Hollow
by Japanamation13
Summary: Sasuke killed Naruto. She killed Sasuke. She was hollow, but can an old aquaintence in a dingy bar help her become the person she once was?


**A/N: Hello all. Just a little oneshot i had stuck in my head and had to write. I know i havnt updated anything in ages, but with school finishing up and graduation and everything i just havnt had time. Hopefully i will have more time to write now, so i may update soon.**

* * *

"I loved you", she whispers, her pink hair not so vibrant, and her green eyes dulled.

"I know." Red eyes fade black. They were both on their knee's, their eyes meeting but not really seeing anything. "You've changed." It wasn't a question, but a statement, a fact.

"I know...", her voice was monotoned and lifeless. With a sharp flick of the wrist she twisted the kunai embeded his chest, and his body became lifeless. When she yanked her weapon back the body fell, much to slowly for her liking, and hit the snow covered ground with a sickly thud.

Haruno Sakua had just done the one thing she had never wanted to do. She had just killed Uchiha Sasuke, the tainted boy that she had once been so desperatly in love with. She had just killed her dream.

* * *

The civillian bar was at was dark and the air was hazy, filled with ciggarette smoke. It was perfect for him. This was the type of place most people spent their entire lives trying to avoide. This is also why he was so suprised to see her there so late in the evening, kunoichi or not, this was no place for a woman like her to be.

He had been sitting at the far end of the bar, watching uninterested as drops of condensation made their way down the side of his glass, when she came in. For someone who was always so strong, she looked awfuly broken as she slumped onto a barstool, ordering three shots of tequila while she was at it. He stared at her as she grabbed the one on the far left and downed it in one go. Her eyes closed, taking comfort in the warm burn of the liquor as it trailed down her throte.

He knew why she was so broken, everyone did. On her previous mission, her and her over enthusiastic blonde team mate ran into the Uchiha who once again refused to return home, only this time they refused to take no for an answer. Naruto had faught first, faught and lost. As strong as the blonde was, he was overconfident, irrational and rash, making spontanious decisions that lead to his downfall. At the loss of her bestfriend the kunoichi went into a fit of rage. The traitor underestimated her and she killed him.

That was part of the reason he was here. He had lost his best friend.

Her dull green eyes lifted from the two remaining shots as she finally senced his gaze. He nodded in her direction and she smiled in return. He knew that smile, the one that didnt quite reach her eyes. She had been hiding behind everytime he had seen her since he arrived in Konoha for the funeral. He tilted his head back slightly, in a silent invitation for her to join him. She did, sliding over a couple of stools, not bothering to bring the last two drinks with her.

"Gaara" She greeted.

"Sakura." He nodded. "You forgot your drinks."

"Ah." She glanced at them before focusing on the wood of the counter infront of her. "They wern't for me."

He nodded in understanding, looking down at the glass between his hands once more before downing the whisky inside. He ordered another two glass, one for both of them and she more then willingly accepted.

A mornful silence encased the two, the pink haired kunoichi was the first to break it. "So what brings the almighty Kazekage to a place like this?" She said all too cheerfully. Sarcasm he noted.

"I could ask yourself the same question Sakura-chan", He answered in retaliation to the unnecessary honorifics and her eyes narrowed at suffix, "Nobody here cares enough about politics to realise who i am."

"I see. Well i just needed to get horrendously drunk without anyone noticing enough to care", she said with a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes. She must have one fast motabolism for the alcohol to be kicking in already. He inwardly snorted, she was a light weight.

Once again silence ensued and he used this time to observe her, this sad little kunoichi who's mind had wandered off into its own little world. For the moment anyway.

Her skin was pastey, her lips dry and cracked, there were bags under her dull eyes and she was slumped forward onto the bar. She was the escence of melancholy. And even though she screamed deppresion, he could still see that she was beautiful. That she wasn't that useless little girl anymore.

"Gaara?" She asked, still facing forward.

"Hmm?"

She was silent for a while, but when she finally turned to him and met his gaze he noticed that there were tears in her green eyes. "Naruto's dead."

Naruto was dead. He knew that. Didn't she know that he knew. His reply was raspy, "I know."

"I miss him."

His eyes flickered elsewhere for a second before meeting hers once again. "Me too."

"Gaara?"

"Yeah?"

"I killed Uchiha Sasuke." The first tear slid slowly down her face.

"I know."

"My team... no, my best friends are gone."

He turned his head away from her, facing the door. "I'm sorry."

She ordered another drink, sculled it, and began playing with the fancy glass of her cocktail in her hands. "Naruto's memorial service is tomorro." She whispered, staring at her hands. "Will you be there?"

He nodded. She saw him out the corner of her eyes.

"Gaara?"

He looked at her. Her eyes looked like they were pleading with him.

"Take me home." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Okay." He replied anyway. They stood and Gaara placed his hand on her lower back and escorted the sad kunoichi out of the bar.

* * *

It had alread begun to rain when they both arrived at the memorial service. It didn't bother Sakura though, it felt right to her. Somehow it fit.

Looking around her she noticed that the others, Team 8, Team 10, even Team Gai was there to pay their respects. For that she was greatful. Naruto deserved to have everyone he respected and cared about around him, even if it was his funeral. She could see Kakashi out of the corner of her eye. He stayed at the back, hidden partly in shadow. Supprisingly there was no icha icha book in his hand. She understood though. It was his own way of paying Naruto the respect he deserved.

Everyone went silent as Tsunade began the ceremony. She spoke of how valuable a ninja he was, how valuable a friend he was and how he would be missed. It was a touching eulogy, there wasn't a dry eye left in the crowd. There were two exeptions to that how ever.

Gaara was the first. Looking to her left she could see he was looking as stoic as ever. No emotion crossed over his face.

The other was herself. As broken as she was, she could not cry. Not now, not at his funeral.

She felt ashamed. After all he went though, didn't he deserve a couple of tears from his team mate? From his best friend? That boy deserved the world and she couldn't bring herself to spare a few tears for him.

Gaara must either be extreamly perceptive, or she must be very easy to read, because he noticed her sudden spur of self loathing.

Very subtly he grasped her hand. She liked the feel of his hand in her own. It was big and calloused and warm. Even though it was only a small sign of affection, it comforted her more then he could ever know.

The memorial ended, and everyone began to leave. The rookie nine all came to her, giving her apolagies and words of respect for those lost. She just nodded, thanking them for coming, but not really listning to what they were saying.

Her and Gaara stayed in front of the memorial stone for sometime after the funeral had ended. The rain was getting heavier, but she was soaked though already.

She stared at the freshly engraved name, "Uzumaki Naruto". It looked so wrong at the bottom of the list, in letters the same size as all the others. He should have had his face engraved into hokage mountain, he deserved it. He should have been leading this village, not dead, burried under a pile of dirt in a graveyard.

"I miss him", she stated.

The red head turned to her, tucking a strand of pink hair behind her ear. "I know."

"I miss the way things were." Her eyes began to sting with tears that were to late, but better late then never.

"I know."

"I hate that he is gone. I hate that I wasn't stong enough to save him. I hate that im alone." The tears were pouring out now. It was as if all the emotion she had been containing since his death was all being released at that one moment.

"It wasn't your fault", He slowly shook his head, and held her face with his hands.

She stared at him with tear filled eyes, and he looked back at her with that same blank, stoic expression he always had, only there was something different about his eyes, "and you're not alone."

He kissed her.


End file.
